Saturday

This Dopey’s eyes are a bit more bloodshot than the Disney dwarf that appeared on-screen opposite Snow White.

He’s got big puffy pouches under his eyes as he stares out at customers from a small clear case on the counter at Pete’s Mart.

This Dopey’s eyes are a bit more bloodshot than the Disney dwarf that appeared on-screen opposite Snow White.

He’s got big puffy pouches under his eyes as he stares out at customers from a small clear case on the counter at Pete’s Mart.

A white paper sign affixed to the front of the case announces: “Last day selling, Tuesday, July 30.”
The case is packed with bags, pouches and little glass jars marked with fluorescent labels and goofy cartoon characters redrawn with slight stoner makeovers.

The packet featuring Dopey has a catchy name, capital letters “OMG” spelled out vertically in a psychedelic font.

The city is poised to pass an ordinance banning the sale and possession of synthetic marijuana. Many shop owners have decided to quit peddling what city officials believe to be potential poison.
Some have started pulling the product before the ban becomes law.

Peter Ibrahim, owner of Pete’s Mart, 370 County St., has been a fixture at several public meetings where the pending ordinance has been debated.

As evidenced by the case full of merchandise next to his cash register on Thursday, Ibrahim’s shop has been selling substances many health officials across the region have been rallying to eradicate.
“We don’t promote it, but there is a market for it,” Ibrahim said. He has pledged to stop selling the targeted items.

A smaller “CLEARANCE” tag was also stuck to the case. The remaining inventory included items mostly labeled “incense” and “potpourri” with names like “Widowmaker,” “Blackout,” Ocean Breeze,” “WTF” and “Scooby Snax.”

The packets of “Scooby Snax” are marketed with an image of Scooby-Doo, the mystery-solving pooch from the 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoons, his tongue hanging from the side of his mouth, eyes crossed.

These products are legal to sell in many cities and towns across the state, for now at least. Fall River banned the sale of “synthetic marijuana” last year. Many other municipalities have followed.

Since they’re labeled “incense” and “potpourri,” no age limits apply where sales are still legal.

Health officials have said the substances inside these flashy packages, when smoked or otherwise ingested, can cause hallucinations and paranoia. Law enforcement officials have come out in favor of bans, citing the unpredictability of highs associated with the chemical-laced ingredients.

Legislators have found difficulty enacting outright bans because of shifting chemical ingredient lists.

“In another two weeks it should be passed,” said Taunton City Councilor Daniel Barbour, referring to the pending city ordinance. “Pete probably should have stopped selling this stuff a long time ago.”

A third reading will soon be held on the ban. It’s expected to pass easily and become law.

Pete’s Mart isn’t the only city store selling synthetic marijuana. Ibrahim hopes the city educates local business owners after the law passes.

Barbour said the movement to ban the substances was born out of the city’s Crime Watch organization.

“Just because it’s a form of legal crack, that doesn’t make selling it the right thing to do to the youth of our community,” Barbour said. “How many of these store owners have children? Would they like someone selling this junk to their kids?”

The counter at Stop And Save Convenience Store, 296 Winthrop St., has a display case similar to Ibrahim’s.

There’s far less inventory inside, however, and the clerk working Thursday afternoon said the shop’s owner read about the pending ordinance recently and decided to stop selling.

Fewer than 25 packets of about four different brands were on the shelves of Stop And Save’s synthetic marijuana display case Thursday. The seemingly popular “Scooby Snax,” but also “Bizarro,” “California Dreams” and “Sexy Monkey” were available for sale.

During a telephone interview Thursday evening, the owner, a Fall River man, refused to comment on the record or identify himself for this story.

He said he would be removing all synthetic drugs from his store, “very soon.”

“There should be a moral obligation to the community,” Barbour said. “It just floors me that we have to make an ordinance to make a store not sell this stuff. Common sense no longer prevails. It’s unfortunate.”

Contact Rory Schuler at rschuler@tauntongazette.com.

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